THE KAWARAU.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 43, 26 September 1863, Page 6

THE KAWARAU.

(fKOM OTJB OWN CORBEBPONDENT.)

A few days ago a storekeeper residing at Gentle Annie Creek—the same Gentle Annie the witness told Mr. Judge Richmond in Dunedin it woiild take him (the Judge) six hours to cross-—was engaged packing goods to his store; and when trying Co avoid one of the dangerous landslips in the road, the pack unfortunately struck against a projecting stone, precipitating the poor animal a distance of twelve or fourteen feet, and jamming it between two huge rocks in such a way as to render its master's assistance useless. In a few minutes after, a party of six diggers were passing, whose aid Tait earnestly solicited; but unlike the old Victorian diggers, all help was bluntly refused. Thus for the sake of a few minutes* delay and labour Tait was compelled to lose a horse worth £BO, his principal stay, nor was he able to remove the goods for some little time. On Saturday the 19th instant, between eleven and twelve a.m., a miner named John Hens was engaged paddocking in Copenhagen Gully, near its junction with Smith's Gully, when the nice of the bank slipped; the falling earth struck him on the legs, bending his knees, and squeezing him against the opposite tank, completely covering him. One of his mates, Kaspar Hoggeman, was working with him at the time, and was covered to his arm pits; he called for assistance, when a number of diggers at onee removed .the. earth and took out the men. Kaspar Hoggeman was more frightened than hurt, but John Hens was quite dead. One of the diggers who came to render them assistance was their other mate, who, having heard the call in the hut, where he was attending to culinary matters, ran off immmediately and in the hurry of the moment forgot to remove the fryingpan, which took fire, and caused the tent and two others which were close by to be consumed with all their contents. John Hens was a native of Prussia, district of Coblentz, about 32 or 33 years of age, by trade a tanner, has been gold-mining in California, Victoria, and in Otago since the first rush. His friends at present keep large tanneries itrCobteirtz. A magisterial inquiry was held on the 21st instant, by Jackson Keddell, Esq, R. M., at the Kawarau Hotel, Kawarau Junction, when a verdict Of ° Accidental Death" was recorded. A few days ago a party of miners were obliged to wade across the Nevis River; the • weather being cold and severe, from three to giz feet of snow on the ground; one of them - named Ebe-Nelsein, a native of Sweeden, aged twenty three years, caught a severe cold, ond died on Sunday last of inflammation

of the bowels. He was attended by Dr. Harris. There are a groat many miners

going to these diggings, but at present there is no encouraging report from there, the weather being cold and too much snow on the ground to all the miners to work with success. There are six or seven stores of various dimensions, and a baker's shop about to be erected—a great desideratum on a new rush. Population between 300 and 400.

A new chum met one of the Dunstan camp officials the other day in the street, and enquired where the diggers got their claims.

A resident of the Kawarau posted a letter in that town the other day in time for the mail going to Queenstown, to which place he had written to a friend, whence he could have had an answer by return mail from the latter place. Instead of sending it direct from the Kawarau the letter should be forwarded,

according to regulation, by the Dunstan, via Dunedin, to Queenstown, thus making the time of communication between Queenstown and Kawarau, a distance of thirty miles, in fourteen days. This is decidedly rapid progress with a vengeance in the nineteenth century. Our Postmaster General is a great stickler for the old circumlocution school, when he would not allow letters to be forwarded direct from one post town to the other. When public convenience is not a matter for that gentleman's consideration, he might take into account the very bad state of the rodds, and save poor horse flesh. A few days ago a baker's cart was stopped near to the Molyneux Gorge by the men at work on the public road, to get bread at two shillings per loaf, the men being exasperated at being charged two shillings and sixpence per loaf for their bread by a storekeeper not a hundred miles from the Kawarau Junction, merely because they had not the ready cash, although none of their cheques were as yet dishonored or questioned when tendered for payment This is the wrong way for a business man to amass a fortune by so severely taxing the daily bread of the poor unfortunate laborer. This is a little matter under the rose, the bud of which we will destroy, if people do not mend their ways.